It’s just been one of those weeks, hasn’t it?
Well actually 13 days and 11 hours. But whose counting.
Google’s second “helpful content” update that started Sep 14th, finally finished rolling out yesterday.
And boy, was it a DOOZY.
Search rankings seemingly went through a blender.
And “niche sites” in particular appear to have been hit the hardest.
If you’re on Twitter (I’m never calling it “X”) you already know.
Just about everyone on there has been sharing stories and traffic graphs that look like this:
(This is a screenshot from 30 minute presentation I’m giving a Niche Site Summit next month. You can sign up for free here if you’re interested in watching it).
The picture is clear – it’s been a DUMPSTER FIRE.
I’m not going to write a bunch of words, speculating on what I think Google is trying to do with this latest update.
Plenty of more qualified folks have already done so – Marie Haynes, Barry Schwartz, Glenn Gabe.
And they’re all worth reading.
Instead, as we head into the weekend, I’ll just leave you with this:
EmboraPets.com.
Spend some time exploring this site.
If your site resembles it, I believe you’re in trouble.
Or more likely – trouble has already found you.
This site was started back in 2019 by the Income School guys (they made the site public back then).
They sold it a year later, and I can’t tell if it’s even being maintained any more.
But just look at this Cat page.
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Three separate dedicated articles about “calming cats down”.
They are aggressively going after obscure, long-tail keywords.
In fact, that’s the entire purpose of the site.
Click into an article.
The author image looks AI generated to me.
There are no links to her socials, or any evidence that she’s real at all.
Images appear to be all stock photos.
The content is not unique – the author isn’t adding anything new.
No new perspectives, or unique experiences, or insights.
She probably doesn’t even own a pet!
I don’t share this site, or say these things to be mean – I’ve been there myself!
ApplianceFixes.com was created in the same vein.
I share this site as a reference for you and I.
And as a reminder.
A reminder that those days are OVER.
Gone.
Likely forever.
Adapt or die.
If you were hit by this update, I sympathize with you.
I’ve been there, it sucks.
It’s stressful, and it’s personal.
How could it not be?
You spent years of your life working on a site and it just took a punch to the gut.
But take this weekend to decompress, and then come back next week ready to rebuild.
Take an objective look at things.
Improve.
Adapt.
Or die.
Your choice.
I’ve made mine.
Have a great weekend.
-Mike
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